Train firm to axe more jobs

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South West Trains said the new cuts will include revenue protection staff, ticket office and station employees as well as further management and administrative positions.

The company, which runs services across southern England including commuter trains into London Waterloo, said the new cuts were part of its ongoing review of its cost base.

Drivers, guards and maintenance staff will not be affected by the cuts and the company said it will continue to operate the same number of train services.

The Rail Maritime and Transport union condemned the company and called on the Government to intervene. The union warned SWT that it was heading towards a ballot for industrial action because of the scale of the job losses.

General Secretary Bob Crow said: "SWT's attacks on its staff and passengers are eating into the very fabric of the railway they are supposed to be running and they must be stopped.

"Ministers cannot stand by and watch as a profiteering group that has increased dividends by 33% destroys livelihoods and services. The idea that the 660 staff they now want to sack are somehow superfluous is ridiculous."

The union said cutting so many staff was a direct attack on passenger services and warned the company's bosses they will face a ballot for strikes if they do not issue assurances of no compulsory redundancies.

SWT said its priority will be to maintain services and protect jobs for the majority of its employees, providing a strong foundation for growth when the economy improves.

It added in a statement: "The company will continue to review its operation and take any further steps required to ensure it has a secure business for the long term. SWT is managing its cost base to ensure it is operating as efficiently as it can in view of reduced passenger growth and an increasingly challenging economic market."